Storage of electrical cords such as extension cords is a problem of long standing. Most persons have experienced the frustration of tangled extension cords resulting in safety hazards. A variety of attempts have been made in the past to eliminate this problem. Many of such attempts have met with at least partial success; however, certain inherent problems remain. For example, winding an extension cord onto a reel by hand is bothersome and time consuming. Such existing reels are not capable of supplying current during wrapping and unwrapping of cord from the reel. In the case of large, heavy industrial cords, substantial physical effort is required. Efforts have been made to mechanize the winding of extension cord on reels. For example, one device in common use includes a rotatable reel mounted on a carriage. The rotatable reel has a crank-like handle providing a degree of mechanical advantage to the user. Such a device also has been powered by an electric motor. Such powered reels have, in the past, been cumbersome in size and have had the further disadvantage of required operator attendance at the reel to provide operation. It has been estimated that an operator of industrial cleaning equipment may lose as much as 72 minutes each day due to untangling and winding cord by hand. This lost time can be saved using the present invention.